What Happened the Night Before?
by MacMhuirich
Summary: McGee needs to unwind and Tony's got an idea that involves the whole team. Curious how this will turn out?
1. Chapter 1

**Sunday morning**

There was no way Tim could remember what had happened the night before. All he knew was how he'd woken up the next morning with a head packed with cotton about to burst. Thank heavens it was Sunday morning and nobody needed to know about his dinosaur of a hangover.

Nobody?

Hey! Wait a minute!

...

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><p>I rolled over in my bed and checked the alarm on the nightstand.<p>

3:15am? What the...?

I groaned and was about to snuggle back under the duvet when my ears caught a sound. I was instantly awake and alert. Sitting up, I listened intently and...relaxed, falling back.

So that was the noise that woke me up! There was the distinct sound of snoring coming from the guest room and I suddenly remembered I had a guest sleeping over as a precaution measure after last night.

Oh! Now he was mumbling in his sleep! _Mom_? He was calling for his..._mom_?

Heck, what am I doing? Listening in on his dreams? Better get back to sleep, hombre.

I had another couple of false alarms during the night. Kiddo was determined to keep me from enjoying my night's rest. By force of habit, I didn't need many hours of sleep, but what little sleep I had, I'd rather spend it uninterrupted.

At long last, the natural light of dawn filtered into my room and I rolled out of bed to go about my usual business.

Nothing extraordinary about that, weren't it for the fact that I had this guest I had taken the care over for last night.

I quickly got dressed – the shaving would have to wait, it was the weekend, after all - and made for the spare bedroom to check on my agent.

All appeared fine, considering the state he'd been in when I gave him a lift to my place! But right now, he was still in a deep, alcohol induced coma, lying sprawled on the bed in just his boxers. His head, mouth wide open, lay at an almost unnatural angle and his long bare legs were tangled in the sheets.

The last time I'd seen him in...undress...was years ago and I was genuinely surprised to see how much weight he'd lost over the past few years. Even more so with the morning sunshine highlighting his pale slender torso and sinewy arms.

I chuckled, for I knew for a certainty how mortified he would be as soon as he would wake up.

Deciding to let him sleep in on this Sunday morning, I silently retreated, closing the door behind me and went to brew some coffee and sit down to a solitary breakfast. With time on my hands, I walked outside with another mug of my favorite black brew to think on how my junior agent had ended up all mops and brooms at my place.

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><p><strong><em>A bit on the short side to start with. Not what some are used of me. I know. <em>**

**_Regardless, I look forward to your feedback._** :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews and - wow! the favs/alerts! **

**I know I still have another unfinished story 'Dead Ringer' but I've been having a bit of a rather...eventful...time.  
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><p><strong>Saturday night<strong>

Normally, it sucked to have others help you with your daily business because of an injury, but if I was honest with myself, I wasn't really in any need to have my personal 'valet' as Abby so eloquently put it. Yet, I enjoyed having McGee jump to my every call and saw no wrong in it. Besides, he seemed quite willing to slave for me. Going to the bathroom? He'd be ready to wipe my butt clean. He'd stick to me 24/7 if I allowed him to. I wouldn't even be surprised if I found DiNozzo had super glued McGee to me.

Of course we all knew why he was staying by my side like a faithful dog. This wouldn't have happened had I not played the hero by pushing my agent out of the way of a speeding car aiming straight at both of us! But then, he was either stupid or trying to be a hero himself, thinking he could stop the car by one well aimed shot. I had to admit I lauded his courage, foolish though it was.

But there it was, and since then, he'd been overwhelmed with guilt...as we all knew so very well he would. This kid wore the coat of guilt like a second skin...and we had all taken advantage of this. All of us.

Damn it. It had all been so easy. I didn't complain and actually enjoyed watching the boy almost bend double to please me. Make that: 'not displease' me. Of course I could let him off this self-imposed task the moment he'd be ready to say so himself. However, his ingrained shyness would stand in the way of speaking up against me.

But I'm digressing. I've been too much near Ducks... He's rubbing off on me. Yeah, that's it.

I knew I'd given McGee a hard time and this latest case was the last straw.

He got worn out to such a degree that even Tony, renown for the frat boy and incurable prankster who treated McGee as the plucky comic relief, could see how his Probie was left weak as a baby.

DiNozzo had come up with the perfect idea to unwind. Or so he believed... We all knew about Tony and his ideas.

A karaoke night.

Well, he sure got us all curious about it.

Oh he would surely have a great time. Abby would have fun, too. No doubt about that. Ducks? Hmmm. He'd surely go for Tom Jones. Ziva... Well, she got the looks and the voice... A winner in my opinion. The autopsy gremlin? God help us! McGee? He'd sooner kill himself than make a fool of himself on stage. He was too shy by default.

So we all went to the Wild Geese bar where we were met by the other teams from both the HQ and the Field Office.

It didn't take me that long to figure out what was going on. Apparently, Tony had planned more besides a simple karaoke night.

A conspiracy had been set up. McGee had been so uptight, lately, his friends had decided to loosen him up enough to enjoy the fun night. Before too long, they were plying him with alcohol to get him over his stage fright.

Little did he know what he was in for: to get pickled enough to live a night he'd want to forget.

Never having been much of a party animal, myself, I was happy to be off the alcohol because of my busted shoulder which still had me on pain meds. I was determined to keep an eye out for if the situation threatened to run out of control. Or, at least, I tried to.

The night began a little lame as most had to get into the mood. A couple of drinks would see to that. Karaoke was fine when at a party at one's home. But here? Amongst other federal agents and scientists? With superiors – like myself – taking it all in? A couple of drinks could make the most reticent ones bold.

It was Ziva who broke the ice by being the first to take the floor to show-off her awesome vocal talents with "Cry Me a River". You could see that performing for an audience wasn't alien to her. She played the audience with her swaying body and the enticing looks she threw the men. The Mossad assassin and seductress. I couldn't help but compare her with Mata Hari. I thought her performance was sizzling.

Of our team, Tony was next. His choice of artist didn't come as a surprise to any of us and I must say he gave it his best. It was nice to hear him bring his choice, an old school classic "My Way" from The Voice, which was much appreciated by the audience.

When it was Abby's turn, she hopped on stage like a whirlwind and without much ado embarked into Sister Act, acting to the world like she was Whoopi Goldberg in person. She sang her heat out with "Shout" and managed to get the crowd up and joining in in no time! A habit for Abby and a host of nuns, was all we missed!

Ducks had thrown us all in a loop with his "In The Garden Under The Tree". Heck! I'd all but forgotten about that song! It was nice to hear it once more and my good friend Ducks was perfect.

Palmer... Yeah, well. He started off a bit nervous at first, but once he got in the spirit of things, he wasn't doing such a bad job, after all. He displayed his hidden talents with "When You Love a Woman" by Journey, hitting the notes just right. When he was done, he gave an exagerated bow in that awkward way of his.

Having opted for the nostagia factor, I'd picked out "Trailer for Sale or Rent". Not being used to Karaoke nights, I found it quite a challenge for my eyes to follow the little ball as it jumped over the words. It took me a false start or two before I finally got launched, but, all in all, I was actually rather pleased with myself.

Only one of our team remained. Until now, he'd only emptied glass after glass of white wine and probably hoped we'd all forget about him as he drank himself some guts.

He'd have to get his butt of the chair and do his thing, too, period!

It was amazing to behold how the alcohol could affect a person like Timothy McGee; self-conscious, timid, naive computer geek par excellence, metamorphosed into a wild, uninhibited and cocksure performer.

At first, the alcohol seemed to have the adverse effect of putting him to sleep but then, when he was pushed upright and onto the stage, a micro thrusted in his hands, the transformation was instantaneous.

Tony sat back in his chair, smiling like a Cheshire cat. The girls, Ducks and Palmer just sat waiting with worried anticipation, hoping it wouldn't be too embarrassing. The rest of the audience were looking forward to a good laugh.

As soon as the music started, McGee was wide awake. Well, not really. Just different. Any insecurities he might have had over his appearance on stage, fell away. He put heart and soul in his singing and dancing. At some point, he swung the line of the microphone with such vigor that it went crashing to the floor but, when someone had picked it up and handed it over to him, it was still functioning alright.

Okay, his rendition, or rather, the singing bit of the song, sucked, as he was mostly off-key. Hadn't realized he'd gone tone-deaf. The dancing act, on the other hand, was...not bad at all! His overall performance? I doubt anyone present would've done a better job. Not precisely what one might have expected of our sedate computer geek. Let's say I let a small sigh of relief escape and blessed the heavens that Vance couldn't attend because he had other obligations.

From the corner, I caugt sight of Tony's wicked grin and fixed him with a warning stare. If I didn't stop him right here and now, Tony would never let Tim live it down!

After the song, wild applause broke out as he tottered off the stage and waddled back to the table, a silly grin on his face.

I'd never thought I'd see the day that Ducks' eyes threatened to pop out.

Tim's scores absolutely soared with the lady folk! We all knew, however, that his embarrassment would know no bounderies when he'd be sobered up again. But since he wasn't, he might just as well enjoy the female attention in his sexy, athletic body to the fullest.

Ziva, for one, couldn't keep her eyes off him and Abby, while quite enjoying the sight herself, looked daggers at Ziva.

Tim's team mates were stunned. Who would've predicted this outcome?

"What was that? Sure this was McGee?" Tony asked, admiration, mirth and worry all evident in his voice.

"Shower..." Abby replied, watching Tim intently.

"He...he sings in...?" Ziva laughed, hungry eyes still on Tim.

"Yep...the shower..."

"Wow!" Tony said. "That was... Wow!"

Tim, having attracted some attention, was still swaying to all 4 wind directions and needed some coaxing to sit down again. It seemed he was still feeling this consistent need to get back to the singing. So he got up again and tried to...walk...wobble to claim his 'rightful' place on stage again. Both Ducks and Palmer pushed him down in his seat again. The look my old friend threw me, was disapproving. Uh-oh.

The plan had worked out better than expected. A little too well, in fact. The turn Tony's operation "Unwind McGoo" had taken, had been quite unexpected to say the least.

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><p><em>Hope you all liked my choice of songs for our guys. <em>

**_Did any of you detect what song was actually sung by the actor playing his NCIS character? Let me know what you think! :D_**

_Trust me, I didn't know that myself until I found it on YouTube and thought it fun to use it here._


	3. Chapter 3

"C'mon, Tim. Time to go."

"Kayyy... G'nighty, sweet hearts! Daddy's tucking me in tonight. Ni-night..."

He levered himself from his chair with difficulty and after the first steps, he listed dangerously before recovering his balance.

"Oh la la! Le bateau!" McGee slurred, a goofy grin on his red, shiny face and then he made to turn around again, for the stage. We quickly grabbed him by the arm and turned him into the right direction: to the exit.

It was pretty obvious that he could never make it in one line to the car and at this snail pace, we'd get nowhere any time soon.

I sighed and reached out to take him by the arm to lead him out of the bar. Without warning, he stumbled and, his legs having turned into jelly, fell sprawling in the dirt.

We all stared in disbelief at the sorry heap on the floor and, bending down to help him up, my eyes caught Tony's.

"You gotta trust me, Boss, but I hadn't anticipated this. He seemed to be doing well! Hell! I was amazed how tough he was, that he could take that much alcohol..."

I opened my mouth but then chose to say nothing. What use was it, anyway. What had happened couldn't be changed. Bottom line was that my youngest required assistance in getting to bed. We'd talk about it later.

As it happened, I'd failed miserably in keeping things under control.

-oOo-

**Sunday morning**

I was still debating how I should describe last night's events to him, when I heard some stumbling from the open window right above me. Setting my mug down, I walked back inside and started to mount the stairs when the next thing I heard was retching from the bathroom.

Leaning against the door jamb with my arms crossed, I patiently took stock of him as he clumsily leaned back against the wall, breathing hard, both hands clutching his head as if fearing it would come lose and topple to the ground.

He certainly didn't take hangovers too well.

Keeping my face straight, I asked: "Done worshiping the porcelain god?"

McGee shook his head, which he instantly regretted and he bent over the toilet again.

"I take that as a no, then." I replied dryly and walked out again, leaving him to get himself straightened out again.

More retching accompanied me on my way down. 

-oOo-

Tim squinted over his mug. "Man! I feel as if a cat has kittened in my mouth."

His voice was scratchy and weak and his dark, bleary eyes were accusing as he fixed me.

I shook my head.

"Hadn't got anything to do with it, McGee."

He stared at me a little longer and then sighed, looking down at his mug.

"I can't believe what happened."

"Oh? You know what happened last night, then?" I was surprised. It would be a first for someone who'd been drunk as a skunk to remember the night before.

"No... But I don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to deduce I had too much drink."

"That you had. Full as a tick, you were." I chuckled.

He looked thoroughly chagrined. "Not funny, Boss."

He leaned back and closed his eyes. He looked pale and sweaty.

We both sat lost in our own thoughts, when the silence was broken by a ring tone.

McGee grunted and fumbled for his cell. With one experienced flick of his thumb and punching in the code, he unlocked his device.

His face was a tableau of utter concentration but then he even managed to turn at least ten shades whiter than he'd already looked, letting the cell fall from his fingers and onto the table before storming out of the room, as if too embarrassed for words.

Intrigued, I picked up his phone to view the message that was still open.

It was a video clip showing a near naked NCIS Very Special Agent Agent Timothy McGee giving a memorable and almost perfect rendition of the Full Monty, trolling "I'm Too Sexy For My Shirt".

**FIN**

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><p>For those interested in the song Ducky sang, look for this on YouTube: "David McCallum - In The Garden~Under The Tree - 1966" (I strongly doubt this song will ever be on a karaoke playlist :D ) And so you have the answer to that question I put up at the end of chapter 2.<p>

MH singing - also on YouTube: "tony vs. gibbs: singing ;) "

Reviews are still welcome unless this story sucks really that much.


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